TECH Signal 436
NIH-funded dGTEx project builds first comprehensive database of healthy pediatric tissue gene expression
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Deanne Taylor at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia spearheaded efforts to add pediatric data to the Human Cell Atlas, resulting in the dGTEx project which received a $38.5 million NIH grant in 2021 to create the first comprehensive database of healthy pediatric tissue gene expression.
Children's cells express genes differently than adults, which can cause drastically different and even deadly responses to drugs that adults tolerate well. Without baseline data on healthy pediatric gene expression, researchers and clinicians lack the reference needed to understand normal development, disease, and drug effectiveness in children.
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The dGTEx project banks tissue samples from otherwise healthy deceased children whose parents agreed to donate, mapping how genes across all major organ systems are expressed.
Taylor and her team curate and standardize information associated with each tissue donation, including family history and sample details, while a separate group analyzes the samples.
The dGTEx data will eventually feed into the Human Cell Atlas, which now includes a pediatric section thanks to Taylor's advocacy and a 2019 paper she spearheaded.
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